


The End of the World

by KTB29



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: And it's adorable, Endgame, F/M, Fix-It, Human Vision (Marvel), Infinity Stones, Infinity War, Loss, Love, Time Travel, Tony's a dad, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vision's a big brother, Wanda Needs a Hug, scarletvision - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:06:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25827136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KTB29/pseuds/KTB29
Summary: Vision had survived-against all odds, he was alive, but so painfully human.Wanda too had survived, but when half of humanity vanished, she lost a part of herself.Both of them are broken- but with a sudden development from the brilliant mind of Tony Stark and a shocking realisation about their family of two, they set out to attempt to regain what was lost. Oh, and save the world, of course. Without losing each other along the way.A ScarletVision based fanfic- repost from my Fanfiction.net account, KatnissTrisBella29.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 21
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!  
> This is a repost of my fanfic from Fanfiction.net, under KatnissTrisBella29.  
> I've loved the MCU for as long as I can remember, and the way Infinity War ended- with Vision being lost- broke my heart. So... I've decided to try and fix it. Of course there will be angst along the way, but I'm going for a slightly happier ending.  
> Hope you enjoy- any suggestions and corrections are very welcome!

Wakanda was like no place Wanda had ever seen. The beautiful wilderness of the African landscape, suddenly broken by an almost futuristic city- huge towers reaching for the heavens, almost as tall as the striking backdrop of grey mountains that rose from the lush forests and grasslands. All of this possible because of that one rare element that Ultron had coveted- the vibranium. The weapons, buildings, clothes, and even the Black Panther himself had a suit made from pure vibranium. An impenetrable black, undefeatable. Designed by his brilliant sister Shuri, of course- she had the brains and the wit to rival Mr. Tony Stark himself.

While T'Challa had the suit, Vision had an entire body made from a fusion of the metal and human cells. Vision, brilliant Vision- now sprawled, flat on his back, on a cold unforgiving table, while Shuri worked quickly to remove that godforsaken stone from his head. The plan was completely watertight, bulletproof- Banner had quickly contacted Dr. Cho and put her on one of Tony's jets, along with the regeneration cradle. It had needed... extensive repairs, since Vision had made such a spectacular entrance to the world, but it had been completely fixed (funded by Stark, of course) and was once again in operation. And oh, were they going to need it. Helen had been working on this idea since Ultron had nearly killed her- injured her so badly she was in intensive care for months. But she had survived, against the odds, and was now minutes away from touching down, the cradle already hard at work printing... well...

Wanda didn't quite understand all the science and technology that went into it, but the cradle was printing another body- a completely HUMAN body. Built from purely human cells. For Viz. Because once that stone was out of his head and Wanda had blown it to hell, Thanos would stop at nothing to hunt down the people that had destroyed it. She had yet to see the hulking great Titan for herself, but if he ever had the lack of fortune to meet her, then- well.

She'd blow him off the face of the fucking Earth.  
The sun was getting low in the sky as the first of Thanos' forces pressed against the forcefield surrounding Wakanda. Shadows cast by the mountains loomed across T'Challa and M'Baku's forces as they stood in rigid formation, chanting. The bright lights of the city lit the landscape like a beacon- a beacon that the enemy forces were currently using as a massive, vulnerable target. Even as Wanda stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows of this particular level of Shuri's workshop, more of those huge spinning star-ships appeared above the city, deploying more and more of those animalistic troops. They would soon overwhelm the forcefields, then overwhelm the Wakandans.

A young female ran in- a recruit of the Dora Milaje, sacred, brutal female warriors. "Dr. Cho has touched down and will be here in two minutes." She saluted to Shuri, then vanished as swiftly as a bolt of lightning, to join her sisters in battle no doubt.

"Wanda." She turned from the window and the horrors unfolding and walked to Vision's side, taking his hand in hers. He was nervous- scared even. He stared intently into her eyes and tightened his grip on her hand. Wanda looked down at their joined fingers- pale white meeting a vivid purple. They didn't speak, just drank each other in as Shuri continued removing the Mind Stone with her complicated equipment that Wanda hadn't even attempted to understand. His skin- a shade somewhere between brown and purple and red, that noone had quite been able to name, was creased in worry. The gears that shifted behind his eyes were moving too rapidly, and she could sense his internal systems beginning to accelerate. Fear.

Vision was terrified. And it broke her heart.

* * *

People seemed to assume that Vision was a machine, incapable of any emotion, but with nothing but pure love on his face, Wanda knew that his soul was completely and utterly human, and had nothing to do with the body he was in.

The plan was so painfully simple- but it could go so painfully wrong, so painfully quickly if everything didn't go as they hoped. Vision looked thoughtful before a wry grin crossed his face.

"I'm beginning to think we should have stayed in bed."

Wanda laughed, even as tears began to track down her pale cheeks. She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the doors being thrown open. Helen Cho ran into the room, the cradle following her, crackling and whirring. "The body is 87% complete- we need to start uploading his cerebral matrix to this body NOW or we will run out of time." She started pressing buttons and flipping switches on the cradle, and the whirring intensified. Helen looked to Wanda. "We don't have the luxury of a port in Vision's head- not like I had with Ultron's. I won't be able to just plug his mind in- while Vision is still synthetic, he is functioning from a human brain. We will need a deeper connection to create the link." She paused, looked at Vision, still lying on that metal table, and continued. "Wanda, your powers came from that stone. It has the same energy signature- and would be sufficient to upload the complex overlays of Vision's mind into the completely human body."

Wanda didn't even hesitate before almost whispering; "What do you need me to do."  


* * *

Natasha knew that things were about to get very, very messy. And considering the things she'd seen in her lifetime, that was unimaginably dirty. New York, Sokovia... it had all led to this moment, this point in the fabric of time. Those animalistic soldiers were mindlessly throwing themselves at the forcefield and they were beginning to create holes in the armour that surrounded Wakanda. It wouldn't be long before hoards of them managed to get through at a time. Every time one mutant broke through, a Wakandan soldier was ready with a staff, or a sword, or a gun that left the beast dying in a pool of it's own blood.

T'Challa had promised Thanos' troops nothing but dust and blood; the Avengers were ready to deliver.

The certainty that they would win as they always did was diminishing by the second. Nat knew the Avengers were missing key players- Tony, Spider.. Spider-kid and-

Weird.. floaty... Wizard man?

They did not have the upper hand- not by far. But as she looked to her comrades, her friends, they showed no fear, no mercy. They would go out defending Earth from that purple damn bastard to the very end.

As Stark had once said; if they couldn't save the Earth, they'd sure as hell avenge it.

Hell, they weren't called the Avengers for nothing.  


* * *

Rallying all of her power, Wanda placed one hand on Vision's chest and one hand on the cradle. Vision had phased to remove a patch of his suit so she had access to his skin, and she remained staring into his beautiful eyes as she took pieces of his soul from one body and deposited it into another. It felt wrong, so wrong, but Shuri had said Vision's mind would no longer be compatible in a body made almost purely of vibranium cells without the Mind Stone acting as an anchor.

"The stone is nearly out- only a few more minutes." Shuri's hands flew effortlessly inside the controls, manoeuvring the metal arms snipping away at the connection between Vision and the stone. Vision was beginning to slip out of consciousness, but his eyes remained fixed on Wanda's face. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and if he died now then at least he'd die looking at an angel.

"Viz! Don't you dare think like that! You are not going to die, and I am far from a God-damned angel!"

Ah yes. A telepathic girlfriend had its ups and downs. But with her beautiful red energy wrapped around his body and the cradle, her face flushed and eyes bright, he knew that angels didn't have white wings or a golden halo. They had blue eyes, brown hair, an angry-ass expression and glowing red eyes.

Wanda glared down with such ferocity in those glowing red eyes that Vision knew she would not allow him to die. He felt more and more of him slipping away, and-

So strange. Being in two bodies at once.

In one he could still feel Wanda's touch, the severing of the Mind Stone, but in the other was a peaceful blackness, a deep sleep. Just- nothingness.

"The body is complete. Wanda, finish the transfer now- we haven't got long." Helen was again frantically flipping switches and turning dials, and the body within the cradle began to spasm. "Don't worry, I'm just assessing motor function."

Without warning, Shuri jumped from her stool and whooped. "The Mind Stone is out!"

The Vision looked into Wanda's eyes one last time- and the gears stopped turning. His skin faded from that vibrant purple to a dull grey, and the Mind Stone was carefully lifted out of his forehead, leaving a hollow cavity. Tears slid down Wanda's face and fell onto that body, but then-

The body in the cradle jerked. Jerked again.

"Open the cradle! I need to get the defibrillator in there- his heart isn't starting!" Dr. Cho was frantic, and Wanda didn't hesitate before ripping the lid from the regeneration cradle.

Inside was a- very naked- human man. It was modelled after Vision's human disguise- blonde, tall, blue eyed and pale. But it was so, so still. She would not let him die. No one else.

Wanda knew loss all too well, but she had had enough. She was not going to bury another person she loved.

Pietro.

Mama.

Papa.

Wanda would not add even one more name to her list of beloved dead. So she reached- beyond a veil, into darkness, she did not know, but she reached with her powers and she grabbed and pulled and-

A cough. Another. Then choking and- a breath.

A single, glorious breath.

Another.

Another.

A thump of a heart, a steady rhythm forming.

Two bright blue eyes opening.

A hand reaching for hers-

"HE'S HERE! THANOS! HE HAS COME!" The young member of the Dora Milaje was back, panting and coughing in the doorway. Shuri grabbed Wanda and gestured wildly to the Stone still being held within the mechanical arms.

"You must destroy it- only you can. If he gets this stone, there is no hope for our people or yours. Take it- and go. Now!" Wanda looked down at Vision. He was disoriented, blinking and struggling to sit up. Helen had covered his body with a sheet, but he shivered. She just wanted to hold him, but he looked at her with two human eyes and nodded.

Wanda grabbed the Mind Stone with her bare hand, fighting the power it wielded from consuming her, and threw herself straight through the huge glass window, punching through with her powers, and falling into the battle that had begun to rage below.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle against Thanos' forces rages on around the Avengers, and Wanda grapples with the immense power the Mind Stone contains.

Glass shattered and Wanda's vision splintered as she careened through the wall of glass. She didn't feel a thing; she could feel nothing but the steady pulsing of the Mind Stone in her hand. Her task was very simple- to destroy the stone and take all fear of Thanos' wrath from decimating half of all life in the universe with it. Wanda knew this; she'd been over it again and again, worked out the best way to concentrate all of her power into the centre of the stone, to cause the molecular integrity to fail, but now it was in her hand...

It spoke to her. Almost sang to her, drawing her into its power. Like calls to like, and Wanda's power had been born from that stone. And now she was connected to the source. Her power before had been like the steady drip of a tap, but this was... a waterfall of pure, undiluted energy, flowing through her veins. Her powers had been forced into her emaciated, starved body by List and Strucker in their God forsaken lab in Sokovia, all because the monsters had seen two desperate children at a protest and had known they would do anything to avenge those they had lost. They had seen a country in uproar and defiance, and had stolen people to experiment on, to try and realise their sick fantasies.

Strucker had been wrong. He had thought that Pietro and Wanda had only survived his experimentations through pure luck, but Wanda knew differently. In the moment that red energy had entered her body, she had felt the stone choose. Choose her and Pietro to carry this earth-breaking power. She was the most powerful being on Earth- maybe in the universe.

Wanda tumbled from the sky like a shooting star, landing on the battlefield with a flash of golden light and an almighty crash. The power from the impact alone incinerated all the hostiles within ten metres of her, and she knew nothing but wanting to kill and maim and destroy and-

"WANDA!"

Captain Rogers had planted himself in front of her like a tree, and the look on his face was of pure determination and sorrow. "You must destroy the stone, Wanda." He slowly reached a hand towards her, begging, appeasing. His face was bruised and bloodied beneath his mask; his shield covered in black blood. The battle raged on around them, those animals falling to the swift attacks of the Wakandan forces. But she was too far gone to be reached.

Wanda Maximoff looked up at Steve. And smiled.

* * *

Well. Natasha had been right about one thing. It had indeed got messy. Those beasts were easy enough to fend off with the unrefined random attacks, but the pure volume of them piling down upon their smaller forces was beginning to take its toll. She didn't tire, and she didn't stop cutting them down as more and more plunged through the small gap they'd opened in the forcefield. A tactical decision to prevent them coming in at all angles, but their bodies plunging through the shield of energy was beginning to widen the gap. Nat grimaced at the stench of the blood and gore, wondering what hellhole these demons had crawled out of, and-

The earth shook with bone fracturing force, and a bright gold light flared near the building where Vision was having the Mind Stone removed- unless it had been removed already. Natasha yanked her baton from the neck of one of the beasts. She hoped Vision would pull through- she had grown to care for the strange, polite android, and had watched him change and develop from mere machine to man. One of the best men she'd ever met. She'd also watched Wanda and Vision fall in love- they had a connection, such a close bond, that if he were to die- it would destroy Maximoff. She had already lost so much. But that damn yellow stone-

Had Wanda destroyed it? Had they won so soon?

Her questions were swiftly answered.

No, Wanda had not destroyed the stone.

She was hovering above the raging battle, a golden aura around her, and even from this distance Nat could see the menacing, unforgiving smile on her face as she looked down at Steve. Wanda could not tell friend from foe; she hadn't destroyed the stone- she'd taken on its power-

Shit. They were all so, so dead.

* * *

The anger consumed her, broke and remade her, destroyed her. But Wanda Maximoff didn't fire on anyone, not yet. She knew she had a task-it was there, she just couldn't quite reach it, and the stone was urging her to kill these beasts. She wanted to kill these beasts, and the people fighting the beasts too, but something in Steve's eyes made her hesitate.

"Wanda, please, he will kill us all, you and Vision just for trying to take the stone from him…"

Vision. She knew that name. She knew that he was important- so important to her, and that they had just saved him. He was alive and he was safe, Vision, her Vision. Up in that building, beyond the wall of glass she had shattered, was Vision in a human body. They had a chance at a future, a life and all that stood between her and that bright, untouchable future was the stone in her hand. Wanda knew she had to destroy the stone, or Thanos would accomplish what he had set out to do, to use the stones to wipe away half of everything she loved.

It showed her such beautiful things; a wedding, a white dress, everyone she loved most in the world around her.  
Walking up the aisle with Clint on her arm to a tall blonde man, handsome and smiling in a smart black suit.  
A house on a hill, her dream home. A tiny crib, tiny hands wrapping around her fingers as a childlike cry pierced the air-

But this wasn't real. It wasn't her life, and it never would be. The stone was teasing her, taunting her with these visions of a beautiful future, when all that waited for her on the other side of this war was a lifetime of pain and regret. Another entity was there- not from the stone, but from millions and millions of miles away, urging her to let go. She didn't question what this entity was or where it was talking to her from, but it was right. There was no point hanging onto dreams.

So she let go.

Wanda released the Mind Stone from her grip, and suddenly felt cold. Her energy was once again a bright scarlet, and she floated gently to the ground. The stone remained pulsing in mid-air, golden tendrils of power reaching out as if to tether itself to something in this world before it was destroyed. It was as if the stone knew what was going to happen to it, it was if the stone was- afraid.

It should have killed her- a human had never been compatible with one of the Infinity Stones, but she had always been so different, hadn't she? So accustomed to the horrors of the world.

Steve looked up at the stone in wonder or horror, Wanda couldn't tell, but then looked at her and nodded.

Wanda lifted her arms and summoned all the energy she had.

* * *

Vision was standing- just. His legs were weak and trembled as they supported his weight, like a newly born fawn, but he was alive all the same. Being human was so strange, the solid weight of their bodies, the heaviness of their limbs, their weak sight and hearing. He'd once told Ultron he felt it was an honour to live among them- and now he was one of them.

His newly found interest in his body was short lived, however, as he looked down upon the battlefield in horror. Wanda had somehow harnessed the power of the Mind Stone- her scarlet power was now a bright gold, and she had been floating above the battle, not knowing her enemies from her friends, her family. Vision took a staggering step towards the shattered window, reaching for her far below, and he was only partly aware of Shuri's hands dragging him away. The Stone would take her and kill her. Use her for its own gain.

But then her entire posture changed. Wanda's avenging stance began to fade as her shoulders curved inwards. Her hands unclenched and her arms fell limp to their sides as she released the stone. She began to drop downwards towards the battle once more falling into the radius of destruction she had initially created. Posture changing again- more tense and determined- Wanda raised both her arms above her head towards the stone.

Vision didn't hesitate as he opened his mouth and shouted down to her.

* * *

Wanda was preparing herself. She knew she had never used her powers like this, and most likely never would again. She would destroy that stone, along with all those silly, childish dreams of a better life and a better world. It didn't matter- not anymore.

"I LOVE YOU!"

The words pierced the darkness around her vision- it was him. His voice was the same as it had been before- he was here, he was real, he was safe and alive and well. Wanda span and looked up to the window- he stood there, a silhouette, leaning on Shuri. Her Vision.

Wanda lifted her arms to the sky once again, and blasted every bit of anger and pain she had borne for every year of her life into the Mind Stone.

* * *

The world above Natasha was suddenly a deep, bright red. Where there had been, only moments before, crystal clear blue sky, there was a flowing scarlet. At the centre floated a dense, golden orb- the Mind Stone. Bruce had warned them that the stone likely had a way to protect itself from any hostile attacks, but she had not imagined- this.

Bruce- where was he? He'd been inside the mech suit, and last time she checked, not managing it well. But her thoughts were interrupted by the pillar of bright white light that plummeted through Wanda's red layer of sky- and another almighty crash. Thor had joined the fray.

But where was Thanos? His warriors were leading the attack, or his children? Everything had just become one huge, awful mess.

This really could be the end of the world as they knew it.

It was so draining. The Mind Stone was fighting back, but Wanda was determined- she would win, they would win. No one messed with a Maximoff and got away with it- not even a yellow gem.

She could feel it beginning to come apart in the sky, fracturing into tiny pieces, cracks appearing all along the surface and-

"GET DOWN!" Steve was shouting- screaming at any of the Wakandans and their allies that could hear them. She saw hundreds of their people throw themselves onto the ground, despite the continuing onslaught from the beasts.

Wanda felt it, the exact moment the Mind Stone collapsed in on itself- then exploded. She felt herself flying backwards and up through the air, but she was so drained and had nothing left to protect herself with and-

Her head struck bare rock, and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think, as to whether this fanfic is worth continuing or not :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda comes to terms with the damage she has done, and Thanos joins the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Here's another chapter- mostly a direct repost from my Fanfiction.net post, but with some minor edits in terms of description, etc.  
> Enjoy!

Why was everyone shouting? Wanda was jolted awake by two hands roughly shaking her, shouting in her face.

"Oh god oh god oh god Wanda, wake up please Wanda." The man was chanting this over and over like a mantra, a prayer. His bright blue eyes were the first thing she saw- frantic and wide. Pale hands were wrapped around her forearms, clenching tightly over her clothes. Sandy blonde hair fell over an eye, and his brow was wrinkled with concern. Vision.

Wanda was… back up in Shuri's lab? How had she- But she had just been-

"When the Mind Stone was destroyed, it released a blast of energy, Wanda. You were thrown up here- the blast struck you directly, and…"

His words faded away as Wanda looked- really looked- at Vision. He looked so different, yet so similar- his eyes were the same, his voice had the same accent and lilt, but everything else was just human. His face held nothing but love and worry for her, despite what she had just done. Vision was human. It had worked. Thank god, it had worked. But she had... she had caused...

Nothing but destruction. Just as the monsters in the HYDRA lab had whispered in her ear as they worked, telling her what a prize she was, a weapon, world-endingly strong, with powers that would make Kings and governments kneel at her feet-

The world around them was burning- everything was on fire. Screams of pain and anguish filled the air, echoing from the tall buildings of Wakanda, shuddering through each shattered pane of glass. Wanda hoped that everyone had managed to get down before the stone had- exploded seemed the only way to put it. She was covered in blood, both hers and others', and she looked at her shaking hands in horror. A pale hand lightly gripped her chin and raised her head, and two blue eyes met her own shadowed ones. Her love, her Vision- what would have happened to him if the Stone had been in his head when she-

Wanda blanched, then vomited all over the glass littered floor.

* * *

Captain Steve Rogers had seen war before- seen blood and explosions, seen grown men weep like new-borns. But he had never seen anything like this. The Wakandans were slowly standing from where they had thrown themselves to the ground- but none of the beasts that had fought for Thanos rose.

Because they'd been sliced in half. On every single beast was a slit directly down the middle- severing the legs from the torso. The blast from the Mind Stone had radiated outwards in a literal cosmic wave and had brute forced its way through whole bodies-

Steve felt very, very sick.

He knew that Wanda could not have controlled it, could never have intended it but- there were some of their fighters on the floor too. In pieces while their friends wailed and keened, heads in hands and on their knees. In the middle of it all stood Nat- her hair and face red with blood, hands still tightly gripping her batons, looking around in absolute horror. They'd won- that much was true.

But at what cost?

They Avengers were meant to save the Earth and everyone on it, Steve knew that, and he knew that war always lead to compromise and loss on both sides, but this… This was a bloodbath. Wanda would never forgive herself, even though it wasn't her fault.

"Steve."

Nat laid a hand on his shoulder and he leaned into the touch. "Romanoff," he said fondly.

"This is… carnage." Her batons had been sheathed across her back and her eyes glistened with tears.

"She couldn't have stopped it." As much as Wanda had made her mistakes, Steve didn't want the kid to get into any more shit than she already had done in the past couple of years. Just for having powers- being something the Governments couldn't say with absolute certainty that they could control. It made him sick. She was just a child, and even if some argued that she was now a legal adult, they couldn't just hand her over to the State.

"I know, Steve, but she will blame herself and if we don't…" Natasha was cut short by Bruce staggering towards them. Nat steeled herself and forced a weak, teasing smile onto her face. "You given up the Hulk-Iron Man fusion then Banner?"

"The suit died after that massive- wave of- light? Nat, what the hell happened, everything was okay, we were managing, doing fine…" Bruce tailed off as he took in the scene around him. "They're all dead."

Nat smiled again, bitterly. "We won, Bruce."

Bruce looked alarmed. "No Nat, no we haven't. How can you even think that- Thanos hasn't even… he hasn't even turned up yet. But he will, and when he does, he'll be angry, and I don't mean Hulk level angry. I mean you really, really will not like Thanos when he's angry."

"Banner, we've never met the guy and Wanda just wiped out an entire legion of his, along with three of his children… things." Cap felt certain that they could beat the Titan- with the Scarlet Witch on their side, they were practically invincible. "Any second now, Stark will be back with the kid and the Wizard, and they'll…" But they didn't even know where they were. They'd gone into space for gods sake, and space was really, really big.

Bruce still looked terrified, and opened his mouth to speak again when…

The Earth shook with that bone-shattering force again, as a bright flash of deep blue rose above the treeline in the forest beyond the plains. "He's here- that's him. He used the space stone, he took it from Loki, from the tesseract then he killed him as if he were nothing, he killed a god. He bound up Thor as if he was a child, and when I- or the Hulk- fought him, he beat me as if I wasn't a massive fucking green muscled- "

"Focus Banner." Natasha was right in his face, her beautiful eyes piercing, her expression stern. She had been trained to work best in situations like this. But there was no way she could understand what he-

"Nat, you don't understand, he's a monster, and if he's here then Tony must be dead because he'd never let that monster make it back to us if he was still alive." Bruce's voice broke.

"We don't know that. But what we do know is that there is a new threat. And we will all die here today, along with half of all life, if we don't pick our asses up and fight."

She was right of course. Nat was always right.

"If he's here, then let's not give him the chance to find his footing." Steve smiled. "Let's go bring the party to him."

"I don't see how this is a party, Steve."

* * *

Glass cracked as Wanda slowly stood and looked out onto the battlefield before her. Where, only moments ago, there'd been warriors from both sides fighting and yelling, there was an unearthly silence. Their huge rotating ships had fallen from the sky, taking both enemy and friend with them. But most of their allied forces were alive. Wandering as if in a daze, but alive.

Viz tentatively touched her shoulder. They'd both just seen the bright blue flash. Thanos was here. And he'd seek reparations for the stone that Wanda had just destroyed, along with the entirety of his substancial forces. She was in very real danger. They were all in so much danger.

The Wakandan forces and the Avengers were already running towards the treeline- Cap and T'Challa way ahead of everyone else. Shuri and Helen had avoided the blast unscathed- and were watching the charge in horror.

"Watch him- keep him safe." Vision didn't quite register the words as Shuri nodded to Wanda and cocked the gun that had rested on her hip. Grim determination lined the young royal's features.

He didn't get a chance to say goodbye as Wanda took off through the broken window, away from him for the second time. And he no longer had the power to fly after her.

* * *

The foliage was dense, but did nothing to impede T'Challa and Steve. The King of Wakanda would not let any more of his people fall to these animals- invading his country and his planet.

The ground was scorched and dead, a radius of rot and decay around a huge figure in the centre of this man-made clearing. The man really was a Titan. Huge, purple- he looked like an avenging god. Around one hand- almost a whole forearm- was a massive golden gauntlet. Embedded within it were 5 glowing gems. His eyes held nothing but violence, and morbid curiosity in the two men that dared to face him, dwarfed by his huge size and menacing presence.

Captain America took a deep breath, and raised his shield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these characters so much.  
> My fanfiction.net account is KatnissTrisBella29, if you'd like to read ahead on there- so far I've written around 8 chapters, and hoping to add to that soon!  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Steve knew that he was most likely about to die.

This man infront of him- no, he was not a man. He was almost twice the size of the hulk, and possessed five Infinity Stones. That had to mean that-

No. No.

Tony couldn't be dead, he just couldn't. The man had survived being thrown through a wormhole into space, he'd survived being held captive by a damn terrorist cell. Tony Stark had survived every horror the world had thrown at him, and lived to not only tell the tale, but laugh in the face of death. Despite this,Steve knew deep down, that if Tony had still been alive, Thanos would not have the Time Stone. Thanos would not have even reached Earth if Tony Stark had been alive to stop it.

That meant the kid and the wizard were dead too. Parker, he'd been.. so young. So full of life. So talented, if not a little strange and awkward. And the wizard, Strange... he had been a key player in this dangerous game. Protector of the Time Stone.

Thanos didn't smile, didn't laugh at the battered Captain America. He just cocked his head, as if curious that a mere human was daring to make a stand against a Titan. There was no cruelty in his eyes, Steve realised with a jolt, just grim determination. He wasn't doing this just to be a brute as Ultron had done, but he genuinely believed that what he was doing was right.

"I think you know what I require." Thanos continued to stare down Steve as if T'Challa wasn't even there.

As if suddenly realising that the Titan was distracted, the Black Panther tensed and leapt at Thanos, claws swiping for his throat.

"T'Challa NO- "

Thanos didn't break eye contact with Steve as he brought up his gold covered hand and clenched it. A purple aura wrapped around the entirety of his arm as he deftly punched T'Challa squarely in the chest.

Steve knew that this was the end of the road, all hope was lost, as that one punch to the legendary Black Panther had him soaring backwards through the air, crashing through branches and trees before hitting the floor with a final thud. With one gloved hand, Thanos had snuffed out all hope they had in saving the universe. The Power Stone, then.

Where was everyone else? They hadn't been that far behind him, and-

One glance told him all he needed to know.

Nat had been bursting through the treeline into the clearing, her face distorted in a scream of determination, but she was just- still. Completely frozen in time, in space, a green glow rippling across her skin. Her hair still flew behind her as if she continued to run, the momentum and pace suddenly still. The Time Stone. Next to her was Thor, his great weapon drawn back in preparation for a kill shot. A kill shot he would never get to make. And next to him- Bucky. Such pain was on his face- several lifetimes worth of anguish.

Steve didn't need to look to know that everyone else would be frozen in time too. It was up to him to make this final stand- or try to broker a peace. But they had just wiped out all his forces and three of his children. He doubted the Titan would be in a forgiving mood, or was even capable of forgiveness.

Captain Rogers' voice broke as he faced down Thanos, sweat dripping from his face, mingling with blood and dirt. "Why are you doing this?"

Thanos reached behind his back and unsheathed a brutal, double ended blade. It was as long as Steve was tall, and wider that his forearm. "The universe is plagued. Plagued by overpopulation and poverty. I have seen once prosperous planets fall to civil war, children starving and weeping in the streets. Sacrificing half saves those that are left."

Steve hated the Titan for making sense. He had the right ideas, perhaps, but to murder fifty percent of all life?

Over his dead body.

* * *

Wanda had never flown this fast in her life. The surrounding plains were a complete blur as she moved towards the source of that light. But beneath her, where brave warriors should have been leading a charge-

Frozen. Unmoving. It was as if they had all been turned to ice. Their expressions were of pure hatred and their bodies were immortalised in their grand gesture, their final stand. Each of them glowed with the faint green light, the same dense unearthly glow that had been around the Mind Stone as she blew it to hell-

Thanos had the Time Gem.

Tony was dead.

She'd wanted Stark dead once, long ago. Her parents had died as a bomb his company had manufactured burst through their home, and her and Pietro had lain in rubble for days, unmoving, knowing if they did the last shell would go off and they would be dead too. It was her anguish, her thirst for revenge, that had made the Mind Stone choose her and her twin. But Wanda was no longer the young, terrified teenager she'd been when Ultron had approached them- exploited their fears and hopes and dreams- and led her to indirectly cause such destruction.

Wanda was a young adult now; she had seen the world, seen such cruelty and evil but also such joy and happiness. She had saved countless lives and destroyed others- those she would never forget- but everything she had done in her sorry waste of a life led to here and now.

It had taken her many years to understand.

To know that something existing alone did not make it good or bad, a salvation or a downfall. It was just- an object, a concept. The shell that had killed her parents had not been bad- the people that had fired it at their little apartment block had made it so. The person that wields the object gets to decide whether to use it to save or to destroy. Wanda's power was a cosmic unstoppable force- but…

She got to decide. Good or bad. Light or dark.

Wanda threw all her power into her hands as she reached the clearing where Steve Rogers was frantically deflecting blows with his shield, while the great purple Titan hit at him again and again and again with a brutal massive blade-

His shield split directly down the middle with a resounding crack. Vibranium- split like a dry branch. He was not going to die- Wanda would not let him die.

So the Scarlet Witch used her power for good.

* * *

Crack.

His shield- vibranium- it was meant to be impenetrable. Thanos shattered it as if it were nothing more than a twig beneath his monstrous boots.

This was a good death, Captain Rogers decided. He would die fighting for those that couldn't, defending the entirety of humanity from Thanos. Even though he had failed, he hoped he would be remembered for taking the final stand- for looking death in the face and not flinching away. Hoped he would be remembered by those that were left.

This was not so bad.

He raised the remaining half of his shield for the final time.

Wanda shot from the sky like an avenging angel delivering God's wrath. She had believed in a God once- her family had gone to church each Sunday, said grace before every meal.

She didn't know if a God existed or not. But life had taught her one thing- if there was a God, he did not care about a single one of them. 

He had not helped her as she lay starving and weeping in a cruel foster home. 

He had not come to her aid as clinical scientists tore into her brutalised and emaciated body, and had delighted in her screams.

And he had not been there as Pietro took fifteen bullets to save Clint and the little boy.

She guessed she'd just have to do all the work herself.

Everything she had went into this final push, and she didn't give the Titan a chance to draw breath before she was bearing down upon him. Steve, battered and bloody beneath his mask, reeled backwards in shock at the pure force coming off Wanda in cresting waves. Thanos cocooned himself in a shield of purple- the Power Stone again- but Wanda's scarlet flames ate through it as if it were cardboard. Thanos was frantically scrambling between stones, trying to evade her attack, but she was too strong, too powerful.

Wanda was a mortal God.

He was nearly gone, nearly spent, but Thanos still stood his ground against the onslaught of power and rage.

"You will die for what you did, for what you are trying to do," Wanda whispered to Thanos, softly but not weakly.

"I… am… death." Thanos gritted his teeth and smiled at the girl. "It's a shame, really. You would have been fascinating to study, with that power of yours." There was no cruelty in his eyes, just- he just wanted to understand. Wanda was bemused; where was the callous cruelty that Banner had described, the lack of regard for anything other than himself? "How does your tiny body carry such monumental energy?" He mused.

She didn't know. It didn't matter. He was going to die.

* * *

It was all going well; Steve had backed away and merely watched with wide eyes as Wanda destroyed the Titan. So well- too well.

Steve was watching Thanos' hand- the gold covered, gem encrusted one- and saw him engage the blue Space Stone.

"LOOK OUT- "

Too late.

Wanda screamed.

The Titan opened a portal and dived backwards through it. The flash of blue resonated through the clearing, blinding Steve, but he opened his eyes just in time to see the bright flash echo on the plains where the battle had been raging moments ago.

The plains where Wanda had just destroyed the Mind Stone- and an entire legion of brutal, bloody beasts.

Steve looked once at T'Challa's comatose body, felt briefly for a pulse. Satisfied that the King was alive, Steve grabbed Wanda and ran.

Vision had been running as fast as his ungainly human body would allow him to, across the plains. His ill-fitting shirt and pants, along with the too big boots, were doing him no favours. He kept tripping and falling over bodies of both friend and foe- in pieces. Wanda's power was- infinite. He was not scared of her, never her, but that pure power she wielded; he was terrified of what it could do to her, to the woman he loved.

Another flash of damn light- Vision was beginning to realise these flashes were synonymous with people dying- and he stopped in his tracks.

Huge, purple, muscled- this was Thanos. He may have stood a chance in his vibranium body, but now he was as good as dead. He could not phase, could not fly, could not target him with a bolt of light. Wanda and Steve crashed onto the plains from the trees, horror rippling across both their faces as they saw what the Titan was doing.

He was using the Time Stone, but not to freeze them.

He was rewinding time at a very specific spot, high in the sky…

Pieces of yellow and gold tore out of the bodies they'd splintered into like shrapnel, but the wounds remained. Thanos had no interest in reviving his fallen dead. He just wanted the Mind Stone.

Bright flashes of amber appeared against the darkening sky, growing larger and larger and larger until-

A fully formed stone dropped from the sky, right into Thanos' waiting hand.

Vision, Steve and Wanda all moved at once.

Wanda took off without so much as a run up, flying through the air and using her power to wrench Thanos' hand apart, stopping him from adding gold to his collection of gems. Steve launched into a sprint, reaching Thanos before Vision did, leaving a trail of blood as he ran. He wrapped his arms around the great purple body, squeezing around his neck, cutting his airflow. Vision reached him last, and felt nothing but rage as his fist blindly connected with the Titan's exposed face. Rage- such a human emotion.

Wanda looked at him with such shock- and pure love. "Viz!" She sounded so proud, even in this pure hell, she was so proud of him.

It truly was an honour, to be surrounded by people with the bravery and kindness of Wanda Maximoff.

Despite the Scarlet Witch's efforts, Thanos' hand was inching closer and closer to the gauntlet- and as if it were a magnet, it snapped into place in the centre of the great golden glove.

All three were blown backwards as lines of gold tracked up Thanos' arm. He screamed in pain as it began burning, all of the stones suddenly waking as if from a thousand-year slumber. Veins of bright colours covered the entire left side of his body- rivers of pain, the endings and beginnings of the universe in the hand of this one being.

There was nothing to be done as Thanos raised his hand to the heavens- and snapped his fingers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers come to terms with key players having vanished, and Thor mourns the loss of his family and people.

It was just a bad dream.

Nothing but a bad dream. It would all be over, and she'd wake up in her tiny bed with Pietro asleep next to her and her parents' quiet breathing from the next room, his loud snuffling audible from next to her in the small bed.

They'd go to Church in the morning and eat dinner around their small wooden table, laughing with each other despite their misfortunes. Her mama would creep in with the daylight and tickle them both until they woke, laughing and writhing in their sheets. Her father would look on with pride on his face, watching his perfect family...

Wanda opened her eyes. This was no dream.

It was as if an almighty, unseen force was sweeping across the battlefield. Some of their warriors stood firm, looking around and gaping as their friends wailed in horror. But the others… They looked at their limbs in terror as they began to just…

Waste away. Blown away on a phantom wind, vanishing into nothing. They exploded into thousands of ashen pieces, some screaming, some silently accepting their fates, some falling to their knees in shock before their knees vanished into dust. Thanos had won.

He stood at the centre if the carnage, not smiling but-he looked satisfied. Relieved at the final completion of his final goal- his endgame. The coloured veins had burned the flesh on his forearm and had made it as far as the side of his face. The Scarlet Witch launched herself at him again, knowing he had to die, he couldn't be allowed to live-

But he could see her coming.

It took Thanos a fraction of a second to use the Space Stone and vanish, along with the rest of the gems that could have fixed this mess.

Wanda fell to her knees as she felt…

She could sense the screams and the pain that echoed across the universe as billions of lives winked out like candles in the wind, one by one. She could sense the endless, unstoppable pain that gripped her heart- men, women, children, crying out in one voice as their lives were exstinguished. A horrific thought suddenly occurred to her, and she spun round, eyes frantic and searching. But there he was, alive and in one piece. On his knees, gaping and keening in the dust, but he was okay. Vision lifted his head and looked at Wanda. His eyes held nothing but pain and- remorse.

* * *

If he had stayed as an android- if he hadn't become so weak and so _human_ \- maybe he could have stopped this. Vision knew that this failure- this was on him. Billions and trillions of innocent life forms, all across the galaxy, were now dead because of his choice.

Wanda was in-front of him, the expression on her face the mirror to his own. She blamed herself- and there was Captain Rogers, looking like the dictionary definition of guilt. As to everyone else…

He could not see them. His team-mates, his family; they were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

**2 days later, the Avenger's Compound**

The control room was silent, despite the number of people in there.

They had not all made it. Flashing across the large screen in the centre of the room was a continuous, never ending cycle of dead or missing people- their allies, their friends.  
_  
T'Challa – Vanished_

_Shuri – Vanished_

_M'Baku – Vanished_

_As his image flashed up on screen, Nat turned away and swallowed hard._

_Helen Cho – Vanished_

_Clint Barton and family – Vanished_

_Scott Lang – Missing, Presumed Vanished_

_Peter Parker – Missing, Presumed Vanished_

_Nick Fury – Vanished_

_Maria Hill – Vanished_

_James Buchanan Barnes – Vanished_

_Sam Wilson – Vanished_

_Dr Strange – Missing, Presumed Vanished_

_Tony Stark – Missing, Presumed Vanished  
_  
"Sorry Tony, I didn't have a chance to correct that yet." Steve looked cautiously at a wheelchair bound Stark.

He had returned earlier that very same day, in a spaceship that Wanda had only seen before in movies like Star Wars. Along with him had come Nebula- one of Thanos' children, yet another that had deflected, if Stark's tales were to be believed. She had 'modifications' or whatever Thanos had claimed they were- but he had brutalised her, made her more machine than woman. Her skin was blue and metallic plates coated the large majority of her body.

Every time Wanda thought she couldn't hate the Titan anymore; she was proven very wrong.

Thor remained sitting silently in the corner of the room, almost... sulking. He was not a man that was used to being defeated. His mighty weapon sat between his legs, dark blood still coating the blade. His shoulders curved inwards, and he looked so... mortal. _Oh._ Of course, Wanda remembered. Thor's brother, Loki, God of Mischief... Thanos had killed him too. In a much more permanent way. She had hated Loki as the rest of them had, but she knew what it was like to lose a brother-to lose family that you love. Her heart went out to him.

The woman, Carol Danvers, looked very much like Thor- put out and beaten. Her incredible powers rivalled her own- but they had not been enough.

"The kid and the wizard vanished too; you can change that while you're there, Rogers." Tony attempted to speak with his usual sarcasm and sass but fell completely flat. Pepper hung off his arm, having refused to let go of him since he arrived, alive. Wanda had sensed Vision's joy at Tony being alright; he was as close to a father as he had. Everyone had felt lucky that Iron Man had made it back to them.

"There were more of them, of… us, that vanished too. A guy called Quill, a racoon that could talk, a really huge guy, a weird kinda telekinetic girl… You might have liked her Wanda since she had some of your talents, but they all vanished too."

"There were more people fighting against Thanos?" Natasha looked hopeful.

"Maybe we could cast some lines, reach out, try to see if we can get a reading on where Thanos is," Steve mused out loud.

Rhodes spoke up. "Wherever Thanos is, the Infinity Stones will be too. Let's see if we can bring everyone back." There was a hint of command in his voice, a nod to his role in the military.

Wanda looked up hesitiantly. "I don't know about Thanos, but I could probably find the Mind Stone."

Everyone in the room stopped moving and stared.

"Well, my powers came from it I guess, but I've always felt a strong connection to it. That could be why.. Vision and I initially... were so connected. I think I could find it- and if Thanos is with it, then... I can sense it now. It's very far away, but he has it. There was a flare of it's power yesterday... O Bože."

Realisation dawned on Vision's face. That's why she had so suddenly and inexplicably vomited yesterday, running to the bathroom and staying bent over the toilet in pain for nearly half an hour. He, of course, had been right there with her, brushing her hair back and talking to her, keeping her company. But what had Thanos done now- to have wielded the stones for a second time?

Stark stood from his wheelchair, legs trembling with the effort. Pepper fussed, but Tony waved her off.

"Well then kid. Let's find us a Titan.

* * *

Thor stood infront of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Avengers' compound training room. His weapon hung limply from his hand, and his once magnificent armour was tarnished and worn, dented and bloodied. Wanda could feel the pain rippling off him in waves; images from his head flashed into her mind. Thanos, his mighty hand wrapped around Loki's neck. A man with eyes that could see the universe, and a jagged piece of metal through his heart. A beautiful golden city, burning against the horizon, its citizens crying out in pain and anguish. And Thor, standing above it all, desperately fighting to prevent the death of his people, his friend, his brother. 

That was the other emotion Wanda could sense- guilt.

Thor turned slightly as he heard someone approaching, and smiled a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "Hello, little witch."

She had never been good at this- comforting someone, using words to make someone feel better. But she knew she wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't even try to help him.

"I am very sorry for your loss." Thor nodded his head sadly at her words, spine curving almost imperceptibly further downwards.

"Thank you for your kind words, friend Wanda, but I have never understood the human need to apologise for something they had nothing to do with."

Wanda smiled. "I believe it's something about being polite." Thor raised his eyebrows.

"You are many things, my friend, but polite has never struck me as one of them." Wanda had to agree- she could be very hot-headed, and often struck first, asked later.

"I know, but... I know what it is like. To lose many of those you love." Thor's eyes darkened as he remained staring into the distance, outside the compound. "I remember losing Pietro... it was like a piece of my heart had been torn out, as if I had died too. I was in pain for... for so long, until someone helped me find my way back." Wanda turned to glance at Vision, standing across the room by Rhodes and Pepper, a small, kind smile on his face. He was still adjusting to being human, but had acclimatised insanely well, given only a couple of days had passed.

"What I am trying to say its... We're all here for you Thor, and despite us and Loki not always seeing eye to eye..." Wanda stopped for a minute, gathering her words before she jumped in and put her foot in it by misspeaking.

"My mama had an old saying, when we were children. When our _bako_ , our grandmother died, Pietro and I were distraught." Thor's eyes flickered. "We had seen loss before, we lived in Sokovia for God's sake, but it had never been personal like this. Mama heard us both sobbing one night and came in to comfort us, and she said something I have never forgotten. 'Sometimes, _moje bebe_ , someone has a light so bright within them that it lights up the world, lights up our hearts. A light so bright that even after they are gone from this Earth, their light remains.' That's what kept me going after I lost Pietro. The thought that he was alive still, in my heart, and in the lives of Clint and the young boy he saved. All your people, and even Loki, I think... They live on in your heart. They are not truly dead- none of them are, as long as their stories are told."

Tears were slipping down Thor's cheeks, and Wanda had run out of words, so she just hesitantly took his hand. The God turned, and wrapped his arms around her in a bone crushing hug."

"Thank you, friend Wanda."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I added the scene between Wanda and Thor at the end- it isn't in my Fanfiction version, but I wanted to give them some time to interact and for Thor to start to heal. I used Serbian as the language for Sokovian :) Any mistakes in my translations just let me know.  
> O Bože- Oh God  
> Bako- Grandmother  
> Moje Bebe- my babies


	6. Chapter 6

**Five years later**

Some days were still hard for Wanda. Some nights, too.

She'd wake screaming in her bed, drenched in a cold sweat as she saw her friends vanish from existence before her very eyes, floating away on that phantom wind. It would take a pair of warm, strong hands to shake her from these horrors- then to hold her as she sobbed afterwards. Not just her bed anymore.

Hers and Vision's. Not just the bed, but the bedroom.

The kitchen.

The front room.

The attic.

The whole house was theirs. Had been for 18 months and 15 days. Not that Wanda was counting.

Domestic life with Vision was pure bliss. He was kind, attentive, caring, and he didn't mind that Wanda was absolutely useless at household chores. The only thing she was really good at was cooking- she'd delighted in introducing Vision to food when he'd become human. He loved the delicacies of her homeland, Sokovia, and everytime Wanda cooked Paprikash he would declare it was his favourite, before helping himself to five portions. Not that she minded- it warmed her soul to see her partner enjoy her cooking. Considering they had lost half of everyone on the planet to Thanos' snap, life was about as normal as could be expected. The only thing left to do was, well.

Get married.

It wasn't that Wanda didn't want to, and he had asked. They were technically engaged, she supposed, as she had cried and exclaimed yes yes a thousand times! But actually moving forward with plans… She loved Viz more than anything and anyone, but it just felt wrong. Hollow. As if a wedding now, without some of her family here…

She knew they weren't coming back. There was no way they could be saved after Thanos had destroyed the stones. She'd have snapped her fingers herself, knowing it would have killed her, just to bring back the billions of life forms that had left a sudden, gaping rift in the fabric of the universe. Staring out into the beautiful fields that stretched beyond their spacious farmhouse, Wanda couldn't help but feel an aching sadness deep within her chest. Just 5 miles in that direction was the Barton's farmhouse. It had stood empty and untouched for years, since Clint, Laura and the children had vanished into nothing. They had lost so much more than she had ever thought they'd had to lose.

She missed Sam, too- the jokes and witty comments- and Bucky, who had started to become a sort of adopted brother to her, especially during their life on the run. Brave, noble T'Challa and Shuri, not to mention the brilliant Helen Cho and the insanely intelligent Bruce Banner...

Hands on her shoulders dragged Wanda from her reverie and she turned around smiling.

"You think too much my love." Vision smiled down sadly at her, understanding in his deep blue eyes.

"I know, you over-bearing mother hen, I know." She leaned into his chest, inhaling his scent, and forcing all thoughts of pain and loss from her head. He held her for a while, the pair silhouetted against the low evening light that was illuminating the window frame.

"We should get ready, Wanda. I told Tony we'd be over by eight o'clock sharp, and we don't want to disappoint Morgan." Stark's daughter was fast approaching five years old and was already as much of a tyrant as her father. She felt sorry for Pepper.

"Alright, _JARVIS_ ," Wanda teased lightly and made sure her bright smile was clearly visible so he knew she was joking. Despite Vision being completely and utterly human, he had never lost that organisational streak- he had a knack for timing, booking appointments... Alongside those traits, he was shockingly clever and quick witted. He could solve maths problems that gave Wanda a headache in mere minutes- not to mention his complete understanding of.. bio... organic... something? 

"I'll make you pay for that comment later, Miss Maximoff," Vision teased lightly. "But really, we should go- I believe Pepper is cooking and I don't want her food to end up cold."

"You're right Viz. I'll go have a shower then throw a dress on or something." Wanda made to walk off but was stopped by Vision grabbing her wrist. Spinning round to face him once again, he looked back with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Wanda's stomach fluttered.

"Aren't we lucky that our shower is big enough for two?"

* * *

Natasha Romanoff was many things.

She was an assassin. A murderer. A warrior. An Avenger.

But she was also very, very lonely. It had been five years since she had lost Bruce- just when they were starting to act on their feelings. He had vanished, along with her best friend Clint and the rest of his family- but not really vanished. He’d taken off, his hulk had taken over. Unable to bear the pain perhaps, but he had left her all the same. The chances of every single Barton being wiped away must have been infinitesimal; but they had gone, none the less.

The Avengers compound was rarely full of people now, so different to how it had been five years ago. Vision and Wanda moving out had seen the last of the permanent residents go, other than herself and Steve. They still returned every week day morning to train with the extensive resources the compound offered, but it wasn't the same. She visited Tony on occasion, but looking at the happy family he and Pepper had managed to create… It was too painful. It was too much of a reminder of the family she had found in Clint and Laura's home.

Not to mention Tony and Steve still wouldn't really talk to each other. Too much bad blood, disagreements… Nat couldn't blame either of them.

"Brooding again, Romanoff?"

As per usual, Steve entered at the worst possible moment. "Ah, you know me Rogers. Always brooding."

"Any updates?"

"Thor made contact from 'New Asgard.' All his people are thriving and doing well, and the talking racoon that came with him is there too."

"That's definitely something." Steve sat on the side of the desk. They fell into a comfortable silence, Nat checking up on emails and notifications, Steve flicking through the news feed displayed on the large TV screen.

It was strange. Being in a world that no longer needed the Avengers.

* * *

"Tony! They'll be here any minute, what are you doing?"

Tony threw down the contraption he had been trying, and failing, to make fly around the room. Once, his inventions had changed the world. But now, here he was. Making a tiny flying buzz droid to entertain his daughter.

Sometimes he glanced through old files- looked woefully at the single Iron Man suit he had kept after everything had happened. He had thought that he would want to be this insane, intelligent, philanthropist billionaire for his entire life- but then he'd opened his eyes, and seen the blessing he had always taken for granted, Pep. In the same way, he had always wanted to be Iron Man, had thought he would for eternity, but when eternity had finally come knocking, he had thrown down the suit, turned his back on the Avengers Initiative, and started a family. It wasn't like Nick Fury was here to make him come back, after all.

"Tony Stark, on my life, if you aren't up these stairs in five minutes..." A threat from his wife was a threat he took very seriously.

"Coming Pep!"

* * *

Vision slammed the car door as he stepped onto the drive in front of the Stark's house. It was in a beautiful, secluded location; surrounded on all sides by huge fir trees, close to a shining azure lake. Idyllic.

Wanda stood from the passenger side, shaking her hair out in the cool breeze. She truly was stunning, wearing a short black dress and heeled boots. Her hands, previously ornamented with rings on almost every finger, now bare. Apart from her ring finger on her left hand. There sat the physical embodiment of their love- a simple silver band with a small diamond embedded in the centre. Noticing his stare, she blushed and looked away, recalling the events of the previous thirty minutes.

A small, brown haired figure opened the door at the sound of their feet on the gravel drive. She squealed and pelted outside, barefoot, and wild.

"Vision! Wanda! Why haven't you come over in aggeeeeesss!"

Vision laughed as Morgan Stark threw herself into his arms. "We were over just last week, you little nightmare." Wanda smiled as Vision set to work tickling and poking at the young girl, her squeals becoming more and more frantic.

"Viz, you'll make her sick!" Wanda laughed as Morgan began to turn beet red. Vision ruffled the long brown curls, and in turn Morgan ruffled his short blonde hair.

Little tyrant.

Tony and Pepper were standing in the doorway, grinning and shaking their heads at their daughter's antics. Wanda sidestepped the laughing siblings and walked up onto the porch, embracing both of them before peering around to see Morgan with both feet firmly on the ground, dragging Vision toward them.

That man really had the patience of a saint. She hoped, that maybe one day... she'd get to see him like this with his own children. Sons or daughters of their own, safe in a world where there would never be another threat, would never have to worry about the worst case scenario...

Wishful thinking, of course.

Morgan rushed past her, dragging Vision by the hand, nearly bumping into her mother and father as she went. "C'mon Viz, look what me and daddy have been making!" Tony began to laugh at his little girl's antics, while Pepper shook her head and smiled to herself, linking her arm with Wanda's.

"Come inside, Wanda love- ignore Morgan, SOMEONE let her have _five_ popsicles today..." Tony threw his hands up in mock defeat, but winked at Wanda while Pepper wasn't looking.

The little makeshift family stepped through the door into the warm glow of the lights. A small place of safety, love, and refuge, even in the darkness that had gripped the universe so tightly in it's claws.

* * *

Scott Lang had been falling endlessly for two weeks. He'd almost completely adjusted to the feeling, and just laid there, limp, while bright colours and lights flashed around him. There were worse places to die, he supposed- at least this place was beautiful.

The quantum realm was not friendly, not safe for any living thing, but here he was. He'd always loved to go where no other man dared to tread.

But then… A pulling, yanking sensation. The indicator on his wrist began beeping.

Yes! Yes, Hope had come, she was finally pulling him out of this mess! What could have taken her two damn weeks?

The light became piercingly bright, then vanished into darkness as he smacked straight through the closed doors of his van, and straight into a brick wall. Disoriented and confused, Lang stood.

The van was in a… storage unit? Locked up, along with other random objects that he vaguely recognised. But where was Hope- who had pulled him out? 

His answer came only seconds later as a huge, grey rat ran through a hole it had chewed through one of the ruined doors.

Scott Lang looked up at the security camera that was now focused on his face.

"Oh shit."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected phone call leaves the Avengers reeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter, but necessary, chapter!

Despite the good food, good company and even better wine, Tony Stark was still distracted. It was how his mind always worked- cogs always turning, looking for something to create or fix or build. Little Morgan would end up the same most likely- she was down in the workshop with her dad whenever she could; whenever Pepper wasn't making her go to playdates, meet new kids her age and complete whatever menial task she'd been set by her preschool. She was already worryingly clever and business-savvy. The negotiations over being allowed a popsicle often got very heated, involving bribes, threats, and heavy sarcasm. And that was just from Pepper's side- Morgan came back with ten times more fire.

Tony would never understand what he had done to deserve this life. He had failed when it had mattered most, over and over again, until his failures had cost them half of every living creature in the universe. He had been so flippant about everything once- but now... since, well, since Pepper, he had become a reformed man. And when it had come down to it, it hadn't mattered anyway.

Death didn't discriminate. Thanos' snap had taken the beautiful and the pure- the kid. Young Parker, so gifted, so intelligent, so _good_. Tony supposed it was fitting. He was the one that had to live with the guilt and his mistakes and the losses of the people he had loved-

"Tony?"

Pepper was looking at him with a worried expression, as were Wanda and Vision. Morgan was staring dejectedly at the few lonely peas remaining on her plate, seemingly unaware of her father's internal struggle. From the look on Wanda's face, the sneaky little witch had overheard more of his thoughts than he would have liked.

Ah. He'd missed something while he'd been daydreaming then.

"Yeah Pep, sorry I was just thinking about that… thing I was working on…" A piss poor lie, and she didn't buy it.

"We were just wondering if you'd heard from Nat or Steve recently. I'm sure they'd love to catch up…" Wanda spoke hesitantly and cautiously, as if approaching a wounded animal. She was very aware of how much of a sore spot it still was.

"I think Nat is coming over to see Morgan soon, but Steve and I don't really… Not like we used to." An awkward silence fell over the table, interrupted by the little girl pointedly scraping her plate with her knife.

"I want desert now mommy, can I please have a popsicle, pretty pretty pretty please!" Tony loved his daughter just for taking the attention away from him.

He interrupted before Pepper could reply, "Of course kiddo, run along and grab one from the kitchen." Morgan giggled as her dad winked at her with a conspiratorial grin. 

"Save some for me, Morgan!"

"Hell no, Viz, last time you had a popsicle you were literally bouncing off the walls."

* * *

"Sorry Romanoff, what the fuck do you mean Scott Lang is here?"

"That was a bad language word, Steve."

Steve shook his head in disbelief. "There's a lot more where that came from."

"I mean that Lang is in the next room, looking like he's just been to hell and back, pale as a damn sheet, demanding he talk to us right now." Natasha looked as stunned as he did. "What did you think I meant?"

"Cut the crap, Nat, you know what I mean. Scott Lang died. He vanished when everyone else did."

"Considering the fact he's in our living room, I'd hazard a guess and say that he didn't die, and may be offended by your suggestion." Steve made to start towards the door, but Nat held up a hand.

"What is it."

Nat looked both terrified and uncomfortable. "Well… He's saying some pretty crazy shit."

Steve huffed a laugh, but there was no humour behind it. "Lucky for him, I've seen enough crazy shit to believe pretty much anything is possible."

"Good. Because if he's right, we might be able to fix everything." Nat fiddled with her braid nervously.

"How." Steve was frozen to the spot, rooted to the floor.

"He says… He's figured out how to potentially time travel."

_"Bullshit."_

* * *

_Ring ring. Ring ring._

Tony grimaced and yawned as the phone continued to make such a loud, obnoxious noise. Pepper remained sleeping, snuffling slightly every time the phone rang, her blonde hair strewn across her pillow. His alarm clock read 3:23AM- who was calling them at this ungodly hour?

He picked up the handset, looked at the caller ID, and froze. Then picked up.

"Tony, it's me. We haven't spoken I know, but I wouldn't be calling unless it was this urgent."

Stark froze. Pepper, now awake, sat up curiously and mouthed _who is it?_

"Steve. What do you want."

* * *

Vision and Wanda were sleeping peacefully, curled in each other's arms, when,

_Ring ring. Ring ring._

Wanda groggily sat up and reached for her mobile.

"Who is it?" Vision sat slowly and rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"It's Steve." She frowned. What was Rogers doing calling them at… 3:37AM? "Hello, Steve? Is everything alright?"

"Wanda. I need you and Vision to come to the compound, as soon as you can."

"But Steve, it's the middle of the night- "

"Just come. Tony's already on his way, this is… this is very important. I'll explain when you're here, but you need to come, now." There it was, that hint of command that he still retained from his days fighting in the war.

"We'll be over as soon as we can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments and kudos- even one or two make me feel really proud and confident in my work!


	8. Chapter 8

Time travel. Possible.

Not three words Wanda had ever thought she'd hear in the same sentence.

When Steve had called in the middle of the night two weeks ago, Wanda and Vision had been unsettled and groggy, but also- afraid. Scared that they'd have to run into a brutal and bloody war and risk losing each other all over again, despite having already faced Thanos- and lost. They'd killed him, of course, but he had already disposed of the stones. There was no way to bring back the vanished.

Except now, thanks to Scott Lang and Tony Stark- it was. Stark had pored over plans day and night until Friday had managed to create the final concept- a concept that worked. He had been hesitant to investigate at first, but of course he had come around. Tony had never forgiven himself for what happened to young Peter Parker. He'd given the news personally to his aunt May- who was now dating Happy, funnily enough.

Now they just had to figure out which points in time to grab the stones from. They'd all been on Earth at some point or another; except the Soul Stone. Not only was the Soul Stone on another planet, but they only had enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and for one practise run.

Nat, of course, had volunteered herself for the practice. She hadn't been the same since Clint and Laura, along with the kids, had vanished, and Wanda worried about her. Not to mention that Bruce had vanished too- someone the Black Widow had finally begun to really trust and open up to. She was frequently over and spending time with Wanda and Viz, but it didn't take a genius to see every smile was forced, every laugh a complete façade. She hated seeing her friend and team-mate so broken.

The remnants of the Avengers stood around a massive pad in the open atrium of their compound. Nat wore a tight white and grey suit, naturally emblazoned proudly with the Avenger's 'A'. Tony stood in front of a complex switchboard, covered in beeping, flashing lights and levers.

"Ready Romanoff?" Tony had a look on his face she couldn't quite place- something like anxiety? But no, Tony Stark didn't get anxious.

"I was born ready, Stark," Nat quipped with a sly grin. Her head jerked slightly as the helmet on the suit snapped into place.

* * *

"Viz, I'm really not sure about this."

At her murmur, Vision turned to Wanda. She was pale and trembling slightly as she looked on at Natasha preparing to step onto the huge, silver platform. Covered completely in a form fitting silver suit, she looked almost ethereal- not of this world. Since Thanos' snap, Wanda and Nat had grown much closer as they had bonded over the loss of Clint and his family.

Vision would never forget Wanda's reaction when she found out- she had loosed an almost animalistic cry, and then upon realising little Nathaniel Pietro had vanished too… She had been inconsolable. For weeks. In his new, ungainly body, he had tried to comfort her; had held her when she woke screaming from the horrors in her own mind, had brought her food when she was too weak to stand and get it for herself. Wanda was his future wife- seeing her like that ever again would break him. And now she was potentially about to lose one of her best friends.

A single tear tracked down Wanda's face, wiped away a flash of scarlet before anyone could notice it had been there- other than himself, of course.

Reaching around her waist, Vision pulled Wanda close, just holding her. 

Huge metal plates slid down and Natasha vanished in a flash of bright white light.

* * *

Holy shit.

Natasha would never forget the feeling of falling. Or was it flying? Was this what Stark had been feeling every time he leapt into the air in his Iron Man suit?

She was only doing this as a test run- how would they steer to a particular point in time? Would they have enough Pym particles? Would they die on impact, with the momentum they were building? But the worries and thoughts flew away, mingling with the incandescent golds, reds, oranges and the illuminating greens and blues that surrounded her in veins, the lifeline that connected all time and space.

It was so exhilarating.

But suddenly- there was the ground, fast approaching, and she had no idea how to stop this free fall-

Nat's knees popped loudly as she landed in a grassy field. A cursory check of her body told her she was unharmed and in one piece- and she had just travelled time.

_She had travelled in time!_

A glance at her wrist display told her she was six years earlier- but she had no idea where.

Five minutes was all Stark had given her; five minutes to look around, see where she was, investigate what could be accomplished with time travel. Natasha was not stupid- she knew Tony would have pre-programmed a specific destination for her to visit, but this was… this was cruel, even by his standards.

Natasha Romanoff removed her visor, rubbed at her eyes, and stared in shock at the Barton's farm.

* * *

"Five, four, three, two, one, returning NOW!"

Tony slammed his hand onto the control panel and the metal sheets descended from the ceiling once more. The flash blinded everyone for a second, but there Nat was, on her knees in the centre of the platform.

"YOU!" Nat shouted, then looked around the room, sadness lining her features.

Wanda took off, panicking, wondering if she was injured or hurt or-

Natasha rose from the floor as Wanda reached her- she was unharmed, albeit very pale.

"It's okay kid, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all." Wanda offered her a hand, and she took it, stepping cautiously off the platform. Her gaze went straight to Tony, and turned murderous. He stared right back, caution and defiance mingled in his expression.

Noticing her glare, Steve stepped forward in an attempt to catch Nat's attention. "Romanov."

Natasha didn't turn away from Stark, but something changed in her gaze. The anger melted away, and was replaced with distrust, but also… gratitude? Wanda looked on at the exchange, bewildered and took Nat's arm as they began to walk away. Before the decision had even been finalised, Wanda had made her promise that as soon as she had returned, she'd undergo a full medical examination- to make sure nothing had gone wrong.

Time travel was no mean feat.

Vision looked at Wanda with concern, but she gave a slight shake of her head and he backed off, nodding.

His focus returning to the room, he saw Steve tensing before turning to Tony. He knew that the two had not been on exactly amicable terms before… everything had happened, but for some reason, he had never realised it had gotten this bad. The two would not look at each other, not talk to each other, and were ridiculously rigid whenever the other got too close. Considering Steve's relief and joy at Tony returning safely with Nebula, the continued behaviour baffled Vision. Although he was human, the behaviours of some remained tantalisingly out of his comprehension. Had Wanda been here, she'd have smiled softly and quietly explained the complex intricacies of social interactions, but by himself he was often completely lost.

"What did you do." The question that Steve directed at Tony was not phrased as a question, Vision noted, but rather as an aggressive statement.

"Nothing at all, Captain Rogers." Signature Stark sarcasm- something Vision was often glad he had not inherited from his… father figure? Creator?

"Don't play with me Tony."

"I think we're beyond games, Steve."

"That's funny, Stark, since that's all you seem to do."

"God, will you two SHUT UP?" Steve and Tony both froze in shock as they turned to look at Rhodey. Undeterred, he continued, "You two have got to stop this. We've found a way to potentially save trillions of damn lives, and you two MAN-CHILDREN can't get over yourselves?"

Colonel Rhodes had never been one to mince his words.

Tony turned away, muttering various expletives and phrases.

"I heard that Tony." Rhodey's face was furious.

"That was the idea."

Steve stared at him for another second, then turned on his heel and left the room.

Despite himself, Vision supressed a laugh. Were all their family reunions going to be this eventful?

* * *

Sitting in the med-bay, Wanda and Natasha waited for Nat's bloodwork to come back.

"What… where did you go?" Wanda was hesitant in her questioning, as she knew the wrong move would make Nat clam up so tightly, she wouldn't speak for days.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does."

Natasha fell silent before a tear slipped down her cheek. This greatly unnerved Wanda- Clint had used to say, "the day Romanoff cries is the day I miss a shot!" Her nerves of steel were often a talking point of the team, back before… everything had gone to shit.

"Listen, Wanda… you can go into our heads, right? View memories and see thoughts."

Wanda frowned. "Yes, but… I have not done that. Not in a long time. It isn't a line I'm comfortable in crossing."

"I'll show you. What happened. Where I went. It'll be easier than… I won't have to say the words."

A brief pause. "Are you sure, Nat?"

" _Molimo vas?_ I need to share it with someone, Wanda."

Wanda started at the sound of her native tongue coming from Natasha's mouth. It had been so long since she'd heard Sokovian, and to hear Nat say please, of all things…

"But I'll see everything from your point of view, exactly as you saw it…" Wanda shook her head and sighed.

She conceded. " _U redu._ " Wanda lifted a hand, already wreathed in scarlet, and gently rested it on Natasha's temple.

* * *

_  
The Barton farm. Why had Nat been sent here? And… when had she been sent?_

_Natasha glanced at her wrist in the memory- six years ago, give or take. Cautiously, she began wading through the knee-high grass she had landed in, towards the cosy farmhouse. Lights were bright in almost every window as dusk was beginning to fall, and fireflies danced all around._

_It was beautiful, so peaceful._

_The sound was so quiet, she would have missed it if she hadn't been trained to miss nothing and notice everything. It was the slight pinging of a bowstring being drawn._

_"You tell me who you are, or this arrow is going through your neck. And I don't miss."_

_Clint._

_Natasha turned with tears in her eyes, and slipped the helmet off. Almost immediately Clint, who had been leaning around the open door of their barn, lowered his bow. "Nat! What are you doing here? I thought you were on a mission in Lagos?" The Lagos mission? God, that had been so long ago._

_Before she registered what was happening, Natasha had thrown herself into Clint's arms and was suppressing sobs. "Nat!" Clearly alarmed, Clint pushed her away to get a look at her face. "What is it, what's happened?"_

_"Clint, I don't have much time. This won't make any sense to you now, but things are going to get worse. Much worse, and we can't stop it, we can't win."_

_"Nat, you're not making any sense, please just- "_

_"No. Just… please give the kids and Laura my love. And just know that whatever happens… we're all so sorry. We failed you all. I failed you all. I couldn't… I couldn't stop it."_

_"Come inside Nat, get that suit off, Laura's made pasta and we've got loads to spare." Clint looked at her like she was insane, and maybe she was._

_"I don't have time. I'm sorry, Clint." Her wrist display began flashing and beeping, and she frantically wiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks._

_"Nat, what is that?"_

_She ignored the question- it wasn't like she could explain anyway. "Just know that whatever happens, you're going to come back. I'll make sure you come back. You're my best friend, Clint, and I love- "_

_She felt herself being pulled up and away from her friend, back to the present day, but maybe he'd hear her echoing across the years-_

_"YOU!"  
_

* * *

Wanda pulled herself out of the memory to find she too was crying, rivulets of salty tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She hadn't realised how much she missed Clint, missed joking with him, laughing with him. He had become like a second father to her, his children her siblings.

"That's why I wanted to kill Stark, Wanda. I seriously thought about it, but… maybe he didn't intend it to be cruel."

Wanda shook her head. "Tony wouldn't try to be cruel to you Nat. I think… I think it was a gift. He intended it as a gift, to you, a chance for some closure, just incase…"

Nat fell silent once more, suddenly thankful to Stark for the chance to see her friend, and to tell him that she loved him one last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, see you in the next one :)
> 
>  _Molimo vas_ \- Please  
>  _U redu_ \- Alright


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debate over where they can retrieve the Infinity Stones from leads to a rift, and Wanda's fatigue is beginning to bother her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know it's been a while since I updated, but here's the next chapter.

“So… we can time travel.”

“For the last damn time Rhodey, yes we can fucking time travel,” Tony said, rolling his eyes.

“See Tony, Steve really doesn’t like that kind of- “

“Finish that sentence and I’ll put you through a wall, Romanov.”

“You could try,” Nat finished with a wry smile.

It was almost comedic, Vision thought as he shook his head. The legendary Avengers… Earth’s mightiest heroes, bickering like siblings. Wanda just stood on the side-lines next to him, looking slightly bemused. She also looked radiant, of course, but then again, she could have just been dragged through a hedge backwards and Vision would still think of her as the most beautiful woman on the planet. 

Thor was sat down on a sofa in the corner of the room… but then again, Vision wasn’t too sure he could actually stand. He had… filled out since the Avengers had last assembled. Taken up drinking and a much more sedentary lifestyle, until he had now been rendered…

Fat. 

Thor was fat. He’d really let himself go over the past few years, living in ‘New Asgard’ with Rocket and doing nothing but play video games, eat, and drink. Vision doubted that he would be much use in a fight at this point; he no longer radiated the other-worldly grace and immense strength he and his brother, Loki, had become renowned for. Vision almost pitied him- or he would if Thor would allow such a weak sentiment to be directed at himself. The man had lost everything; the woman he had never really stopped loving had vanished along with so many of their loved ones, his mother had been murdered, his brother killed by the hulking titan, and his father had simply wasted away as his hellish sister had escaped her prison…

On second thoughts, Vision thought that he would cut Thor some slack.

* * *

Wanda and Vision hadn’t stopped moving, stopped planning and thinking for what seemed like an age. The new information Scott had provided them on time travel, and being able to save the human race, and then the time travel actually working-

Wanda hadn’t felt this tired since the Battle of Wakanda. She constantly woke in the middle of the night, being coaxed from her worst memories taking form in her nightmares, by Viz of course. She was regularly oversleeping, when she had previously woken at the crack of dawn every day, and found herself losing focus in the long sessions they spent with the team, researching the best ways to recover every single infinity stone from some point in their pasts.

When Nat had noticed that Wanda was off her food, she had silently fussed in a way that only the Black Widow could- piling extra food onto her plate when Wanda wasn’t looking, chucking a blanket over Wanda as she walked past, and cups of her favourite herbal tea seemed to just appear exactly when she needed them. Viz had noticed too, of course- nothing got past him- but he had limited his fussing to worried glances and holding her slightly longer than he usually did every time they hugged. He knew she hated to be fawned over in public.

“Earth to Maximoff. We need your input in this, Wanda.”

Ah shit. She’d zoned out again. Nebula looked at her with distaste, and deliberately angled her body further away. Without any reason or cause, Wanda and Nebula had never got along. The first time they had met, Thanos’ daughter had stiffened and refused to return a greeting. Wanda liked to believe she was above this High-School level drama, but it was so easy to argue with Nebula- and sometimes, though she would never admit it- fun.

Before she could apologise to Steve for not listening to what had likely been one of his righteous, yawn-inducing motivational speeches, Natasha had jumped in with another suggestion as to where they could grab the Mind Stone from. So far, they had managed to pin down each of the other stones to a place and point in time where they could quickly yank them out, and replace them before anyone noticed they were gone.

They’d grab the Soul Stone from Vormir- according to Nebula, this was a planet somewhere beyond the Milky Way, in the Unknown Regions. This would be the most dangerous trip by far- Tony had travelled through space, but had returned much worse for wear and swearing he’d remain firmly on terra firma for the rest of his life. Nat and Steve had volunteered for this mission.

The Power Stone, Nebula had decided, they would retrieve from Morag, another far out planet- but from back in 2014. She was going to retrieve it, alongside Rhodes, who had complained about not being a babysitter since.

Thor had been anxious when they had decided on grabbing the Reality Stone, or the Aether, from Asgard in 2013. Wanda felt awful for him- he would have to see his entire family, his murdered mother, and would then have to leave them again, knowing that she would die. Thor had enlisted Rocket, the tiny chatty rodent, to go with him.

Banner would be travelling back to 2012, but staying much closer to home. Loki’s invasion on New York had caused catastrophe, but Dr. Strange had also lived in the city and was keeper of the Time Stone. All he’d have to do is explain to Stephen what was happening, and he’d immediately give up the Stone- or so Tony insisted.

Tony and Scott would also be going to New York in 2012, but to get the Tesseract. Since they were taking the Stone from themselves, it could be either the easiest or the hardest mission to complete.

The Mind Stone was the touchiest subject for Wanda. They were currently all still debating where they could jump to in order to retrieve it.

Nebula sat opposite her, rigidly upright in her chair. Her eyes flickered as she analysed Wanda and Vision, sitting so closely, before nodding at Viz and saying, “We could always just go back a few years and tear the Stone from his head. I mean, the only one that would miss him would be the Scarlet Whore.”

* * *

As soon as the words had left Nebula’s mouth, Vision knew all hell was about to break loose. He lunged for Wanda’s arm- but she had already thrown herself over the table with a yell.

There was not a hint of scarlet around her as Wanda pulled back a fist and smashed it into Nebula’s face. 

“You stupid _psica_ , how dare you even suggest such a _neumna prekleta ideja!_ ” Each Sokovian expletive was punctuated by a pale, delicate hand connecting with Nebula’s face. The Titan’s daughter writhed beneath her, struggling to get away, but Wanda had been emboldened by her rage. Various exclamations of shock, excitement and distaste echoed around the room as the Avengers looked on.

Within seconds Steve and Rhodey had each grabbed Wanda’s shoulders, and yanked her backwards off Nebula. Blood stained her hands and the floor around the scene of the fight- _oh God_ , Vision knew that Wanda was going to feel so ashamed when the bloodlust finally wore off.

“Hey, c’mon, shit was just startin’ to get good! Why’d you stop them!”

“Shut up, rodent. Friend Wanda, please- “

“Oh, you shut up, you’re nothin’ more than a walkin’ talkin’ barrel of alcohol, _God of Thunder_ \- “

Vision didn’t need to hear anymore. He’d never been so… so…

Angry.

He stood suddenly, his chair flying backwards, and his friends falling silent in shock. Turning to Nebula, Vision mustered the most disdainful expression he could. “If you ever speak about my wi- “ He caught himself before the fateful word slipped out, “my _girlfriend_ in that way ever again, next time it will not be her pummelling your pathetic, hateful face in.” Shock and despair echoed on Nebula’s face, as if he had struck a nerve with her.

He did not care.

Vision stalked across the room to where Steve’s hand remained gripping Wanda’s arm.

“Kindly take your hand off of her, Captain Rogers.” Vision's gritted teeth made this sentence come out as a low, threatening growl.

Shocked, Steve complied, and Vision slipped his arm around Wanda’s waist before facing the others.

“Viz, I- “ She had not looked at him in this way since… Since he had first become human, and had fought for her despite his new found breakability. Pure love, tenderness… and pride.

“We can resume this in a civilised fashion tomorrow. After all…” A humourless laugh escaped Vision’s lips. 

“We have all the time in the world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
>  _psica_ \- Bitch  
>  _neumna prekleta ideja_ \- Stupid fucking idea


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda and Vision reflect on the fight, and Wanda has a startling discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really short chapter, sorry! I've been so busy recently and felt like I should put something out :)

“Are we going to talk about what happened last night, or…” Wanda looked hesitantly at her fiancée. Vision sat at their worn wooden table, nursing a cup of coffee, staring decidedly into the steam slowly rising from the mug. They hadn’t spoken much after his outburst at the compound- or rather, his chivalrous response to her complete and utter embarrassing lack of control. They weren’t exactly fighting, but it was hard to know how to act. A dynamic had changed, a line had been crossed, and everything seemed stiffer and more stilted than normal.

“Wanda… I understand that you haven’t been feeling well at all, and I know Nebula was deliberately trying to provoke you…”  
Oh, here it comes. Wanda braced herself for the inevitable berating and looked down in shame at her own coffee as Vision continued.  
“I just wanted to say that I am so proud of you.”

_What?_

“But Viz, I attacked someone. She was bleeding, and to be honest, I didn’t know she even had blood! Why are you proud of me?”

“You defended yourself, and you defended me. You have taken Nebula’s bullshit for long enough.” The rare expletive from Vision made Wanda look up in shock. He gazed at her expectantly, a slight tentative smile tugging at his lips. She didn’t say anything else, but walked towards him. Even sitting, Vision nearly reached her shoulders, but she reached him and wrapped her arms around him.

The couple didn’t speak again for a long time, but just existed with each other, Wanda wrapped around Vision, Vision around Wanda, soul to soul and mind to mind.  
They had been linked in a way that no one had ever really understood, mentally. Likely due to the Mind Stone influencing both of them, there was a bridge and a depth of understanding that Wanda had never replicated with anyone else- not even her brother.

The first time she’d set her eyes on the Stone that had both broken and remade her… she could remember the very instant it had communicated with her. Back in Sokovia, just before List and Strucker had begun their sick experimentation on Wanda and her brother. They had watched it be transported from a previous lab, watched them carry it out in the huge, reinforced, bulletproof glass. Exposed just for a second, then hidden away in their subterranean lair. Not even weeks later, they had been approached, and the rest was history. But the glass… it was the same glass they had _trained her to break through with her powers_. 

For one or two minutes in her history, the Time Stone had been _exposed_ , completely accessible to her.

The final piece of the puzzle- falling into place.

One glance at Vision told her that he had seen her thoughts, and his furrowed brow told her he had objections.

“But Wanda… Who would go?”

“Me and you, Viz. We could do it. I know that compound like the back of my hands. _Lako_.”

“My love… Facing your past like that could be catastrophic for you.”

“I don’t think… I don’t think I could look at him. But I would do what I needed to do to get that Stone. Come,” grabbing the car keys from the sideboard, Wanda moved for the door and looked expectantly back to Vision, “We don’t have time to waste- we need to tell them now.”

All thoughts of the altercation of the previous night had fled from Wanda’s mind- all that remained now was the thought of seeing her big brother, one last time.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers begin the perilous journey to bring the Time Stone back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A better sized chapter this time- sorry about the short one yesterday. Hope you enjoy!

She was malfunctioning. She was sure of it.

Nebula knew that these emotions weren’t meant to happen- not to her. She was steel and darkness, strength and destruction. She had turned on her own father, and she’d do it again. Turned on the same man that had raised her, had given her everything he had.

_No he didn’t. He took you and he broke you then put you back together in the way he wanted, his own personal weapon._

Thanos had loved her. He was her father, and she had gone against him, along with Gamora.

_He didn’t love you. He loved what you could do for him. He called Gamora his favourite daughter whenever you were around._

That damn voice in her head! Shouting in anguish, Nebula turned and smashed her fist against the mirror in her room. Glass sprayed, shattering into pieces as her unnatural, disgusting, metal hand broke it as if it were a blade of grass beneath her boots. She hadn’t always had to listen to that voice- only since she had come to Earth to live amongst the fragile, spineless humans. Since… Thanos had killed her sister.

A hesitant knock at her door dragged her from her reverie. 

“Nebula, is everything okay?” The ever-polite Captain Rogers. He was the only one that was really speaking to her after the events of last night.

“Fine.” Her reply was curt and short.

“Just wanted to know that we’re meeting again. We want to get back on track and get these stones as soon as possible.”

“I’ll be down.” His boots were heavy as he walked away.

_Everyone walks away from you, you know._

Nebula wished the voice in her head would go away.

* * *

The tension was palpable in the conference room of the Avengers’ Compound. Stark, Rogers, Romanov and Rhodes were already in deep discussion while Thor made occasional comments. Nebula sat awkwardly, knowing she was not welcome here, but expected.

Stark stood and started playing with a large panel, covered in complex calculations and models of what looked to be a wormhole. Lang got up too and began pointing at various points of the spinning vortex, muttering words in his vague way, most likely attempting to sound like he knew what the hell was going on.

The sullen wall of silence that emanated from Nebula would be noticeable to the others, she knew, but she did not care.

The hushed workings continued for another second, minute, hour… she had lost track of the time. A door banging in the compound had everyone turning, before Wanda and Vision ran into the room. They were both flushed and panting, and the girl had a wild look in her eyes that Nebula had seen before- in her sister’s. Pushing the aching hole where her sister should be down, down, down, Nebula levelled the nastiest look she could muster, and directed it at Wanda. She didn’t notice of course, the self-absorbed bitch, and she turned to look at Vision for support.

Vision. He was… he was different. He had been like her. He had been part human, part not, an experiment gone wrong. He understood her, and she understood him, not like that Scarlet Witch did. She’d probably used her mind tricks to make him love her. A man as good and pure as Vision could never love a girl like Maximoff. Nebula’s mechanical heart fluttered as his bright blue eyes caught her own- and narrowed in disgust.

If she could blush, she would be beet red.

Wanda looked at Natasha and said, “we know how to get the Mind Stone.”

* * *

The plan was brilliant. Ballsy, but brilliant, and risky for Wanda. Natasha was impressed by Wanda’s thinking- she was slightly embarrassed she hadn’t thought of something like that herself.

“So that’s it. We’ve got a plan.” Rhodey was a commander through and through, always pushing.

“Seems like it to me. Hey Friday?” Tony addressed his virtual companion. Natasha always glanced at Vision when Friday spoke- it must have been so weird for him, since he had been J.A.R.V.I.S once.

“Yes boss?”

“Run the Wormhole Sim, would you?”

“Of course.”

The lights suddenly dimmed and the table they were sat around lit up with a hologram. Vibrant swirling colours, creating a sort of spiral. It was the most beautiful thing Nat had ever seen. 

“Woah.” Thor’s eyes were wide. “I have been through the Bifrost many times, but this… this seems dangerous, Stark.” He turned to Nat. "How did you do it?"

Wiggling her eyebrows, she said, "guess I have more balls than you, God of Thunder."

Ignoring Thor's indignant defense, Tony continued, “Travelling through space and time isn’t a walk in the park, big guy. I have, however, taken the liberty of mapping out our routes.” Different coloured dots flickered to life at one end of the swirling maelstrom. “Each dot is one of us. Banner, me and Lang are headed to New York- we get the easy trip.”

He gestured at the display, and three dots began to move- green, red, and purple.

“Why have I gotta be purple?” Scott muttered under his breath. Banner looked blankly at the green dot and nodded.

He’d come back- Tony and Steve had found him in India again after the whole time travel mission had begun. Their interactions had been stilted and cold, but at least he was here.

Nat had thought she’d never see him again, so she supposed that this was a blessing.

The dots continued in a straight line before veering off a little way down the wormhole and coming to a stop.

“We’re grabbing the tesseract and the Time Stone. Easy pickings.” Two more dots- red and yellow, began to move down the wormhole.

“Vision and little witch, since you’ve decided to head back to Sokovia circa 2010, you also have a short trip. In and out, as soon as you have the stone you get straight back to us.”

“But Tony,” Vision was frowning, “how are you planning we travel. The unstable conditions in such a tear in the fabric of reality would lead to.. well… it would be like being sucked into a black hole. We would not survive, and we only have two suits- Scott’s and Nat’s, and some of us are travelling across both space and time. The journey will be much more perilous.”

“Ah, Robo-Son asking the right questions! I’ll reveal all that in due time Vision. Next, the Reality Stone. Thor, you and rodent are grabbing that from your own home, so that will end up being a piece of cake.”

Thor looked up at the mention of cake, and Rocket started sniggering. “Fat ass.”

The white and brown dots shot down the wormhole, further than anyone to this point. Rocket’s sniggering stopped abruptly as he realised that he was the brown dot.

“Hey Stark! Why do I get slapped with the shit coloured one?!”

“Moving swiftly on, Romanov and Cap, you’re going even further off world than chubby over there. Vormir- listen, we know nothing about the planet, nothing about what we’re gonna find. Not even Nebula could be any help on this one, so… be careful.” Tony looked uncharacteristically worried.

Blue and black dots moved rapidly- nearly to the end of the wormhole. Despite herself, Nat was nervous. She’d completed missions before, missions crueller and more disgusting than this, but space… was a whole new ball game.

“Finally, Rhodey and Nebula.” Orange and pink dots began to move.

“Tony.”

“Yes, Rhodey.”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me. Pink Tony? You made me pink?”

“You’d look radiant in pink. I don’t see a problem.” 

Nat smirked, and smiled even wider as Rhodey noticed and drew a line across his throat in a menacing gesture. 

“Morag. Again, not such a nice place, but with Nebula you two will be just fine. Any questions?”

Nat raised her hand- and began laughing as she looked around the room to see that everyone else, including Dr. Banner, had an arm in the air.

* * *

So this is what Tony had meant when he'd said he'd reveal the surprise in all due time. It was a suit.

And it was something else.

It was completely form-fitting, and hugged Wanda’s curves like a glove, she noticed with no small amount of embarrassment. It was one thing for Nat to always wear clothes like this- her figure was incredible, and she radiated confidence. Wanda didn’t have a body like an hourglass- or rather, not as extreme. And recently, she’d noticed that she had put on weight.

Perhaps it was just bloating. Her period was due… soon, and she always filled out in the days before.

Pressing a button on her neck, a helmet snapped into place. A tasteful grey, the suit was just like Nat’s. Everyone’s suit was- emblazoned with the Avengers’ ‘A’, of course. Fine, it fit. She still didn’t want to leave this room in it.

_Come on Wanda. It’s just a suit._

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, and walked straight into Natasha Romanov.

“Woah Nat, you’re gonna give me a heart attack!”

“You feeling better kid? You feeling up to this?” Nat’s eyes were slightly narrowed and roaming across her body, before coming to rest on her stomach. Wanda’s cheeks heated- was she really that bloated?

“I feel much better, actually. I must have had a bug or something.”

The two women began to walk towards the huge open training space where the big science-fiction looking plate stood ready to open the wormhole. Just as they reached the double doors, Nat grabbed her arm and pulled her round to face her. “Listen, Wanda… don’t freak out, but there’s no chance you could be pregnant, right?”

Pregnant.

_Pregnant?_

No. No way. Her and Viz, they… they were careful. Her period was due in… in…

_Two weeks ago._

Inwardly, panic began to set in, but as if on autopilot Wanda created an innocent, confused expression. “No Nat, there’s no way. Why would you even think that?”

Natasha wasn’t satisfied. “As long as you’re sure.”

“Of course I’m sure!”

Nodding, the Black Widow stepped through the doors to where the rest of the team was waiting for them- but Wanda hung back. Swallowing her panic down, she steeled her nerves.

She’d deal with this… this baby after bringing back half of all life in the universe. Anyway, it wasn't even certain that she _was_ pregnant.

Though deep down... her magic had noticed a presence weeks ago. Perhaps she had chosen to ignore it...

 _No._ She wasn't pregnant. Her periods had been irregular since they'd first started- this was not unusual.

Dragging her hair into a ponytail, Wanda stepped through the door, readying to face her past.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda and Vision travel back to Sokovia to attempt to obtain the Mind Stone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Sorry for such a delayed update. Life tends to throw some curveballs- especially in 2020. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Vision could see Wanda’s unease as soon as she entered the room. Of course, it was understandable- this time travel business was unnerving even to his logical mind. She had avoided his gaze even while walking directly towards him, her cheeks flushed around… 10.279% more than normal.

Despite his completely human brain and optic centre, Vision retained the ability to shock his teammates with his too accurate predictions. A trait, he presumed, he had never quite lost after being born an android. Wanda noticed his attention and attempted a smile.

She failed dismally. 

Of course, she was nervous- returning to Sokovia would be traumatic for her, to say the least. Especially seeing as Pietro would be there. Vision knew the horrors that still tore Wanda from sleep, screaming and keening and on the worse days, vomiting. That had been happening more and more recently.

Wanda stepped onto the huge plate alongside the rest of her team, the unease vanishing, being replaced with grim determination. Reaching for her hand, Vision gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She didn’t meet his eyes.

The completely irrational fear that Wanda didn’t love him, could never love something like him, coursed through his blood. 

His ruminations were cut short by Tony clapping his hands and turning to face the rest of the team.

* * *

Tony looked out at the odd group of misfits before him, lined up like soldiers on the metal plate. His family. Or rather, one branch of his family. Looking to the side of the room, Pepper stood against the wall, cradling a wailing Morgan. His heart nearly shattered as she flailed about, trying and failing to reach him. He had said his goodbyes. They knew the risks, and so did he. There was a chance that not all of them would return from this mission.

But wasn’t there always?

“Listen up team. I’m not gonna give you a lecture, but just…”

Nat caught his eye and gave him a small, gentle smile, so out of character for the Black Widow that he merely swallowed and said, “Good luck.”

Tony snapped his helmet shut, and a chorus of echoing pops sounded. Following his lead.

Murmuring their agreement, the Avengers braced themselves for the onslaught of energy that began to descend from the ceiling.

* * *

Wanda had never felt anything like it.

This was not like her own brand of flying, exhilarating, and free. This was terror, a lack of control and blinding colours she didn’t know existed. Judging by Vision’s shocked gasp, he felt the same. One by one, Wanda could sense the team peeling away, travelling to different times and places in space. Soon, just herself and Vision remained, flying towards the place of her childhood, the place that had both broken her and shaped her into the woman she was today…

A loud crack echoed in the small woodland clearing as her knees popped on impact. A quick glance to her left told her Viz was crouched down, hands braced on the floor.

“Shit.” The sound rasped out of her before she had even registered the area around them.

Vision stood slowly, raising a tremoring hand to undo his helmet. A symphony of birdsong surrounded them, the gently lit forest glen harbouring so much life.

“This is… this is close to where… to where I finished it.”

To where he had killed Ultron.

Wanda already knew exactly where they were. She had played in that stream with Pietro and her parents when she had been no more than six years old. She had swung from that tree and screamed when she fell, grazing both knees. Her parents had been there to soothe her cries and clean out her wounds.  
No one had been there when the cruel, unfeeling scientists had cut open her knees, her arms, her stomach, to see if their experimentation was working. No one had come as she screamed and roared and begged-

A sudden twinge in her stomach jolted her from the horrors, dragging her back into the sudden new problem they would have to face.

Inhaling sharply, she started, “Viz-“

“Wanda. We should get moving and grab the stone as quickly as possible. You’re certain it’ll be in a…”

“A grey truck with bullet holes in the back. I remember Pietro and I noticed it straight away, and watched as they smuggled it into their hideous labs.”

“What time of day did they pass? And where were you at the time? We can try and grab it earlier, before it even enters the city.”

Minimum casualties- ideally none. After the whole Lagos mess, Wanda didn’t want any more innocent lives claimed by her lack of control. Even if these people… Even if they’d most likely be dead in a few years anyway, after Ultron and the city had been lifted… The escort and drivers carrying the stone however... she wouldn't shed any tears if they got caught in the crossfire.

So many memories here- too many. From their vantage point on the hilltop, Wanda could see the pavilion where Pietro would be shot, and the Church at the centre that would become Ultron’s weapon. She was glad she had managed to get away. Sokovia, while it was her home… It was a bad place. The innocent lives were disregarded by those with money or power or both, and the pathetic excuse for a government was corrupt to the very core.

After consulting maps and notes, Wanda and Vision began the descent into the city.

* * *

It was strange, being back here again. The last time Vision had seen the small city of Sokovia, it had been in literal pieces. But here it was, fully formed.

Even now, before Ultron, the buildings were crumbling in places, windows shattered. Rats openly ran the streets, ignored by the beaten down citizens walking by. A bleak, dark landscape. Vision wondered how someone as bright and beautiful as Wanda had survived a place such as this without letting it break her.

He wasn’t so sure he’d have been able to.

They had positioned themselves at the end of a small road leading directly to the Strucker’s lab. Wanda had assured him that this was the road the van had driven up, surrounded by an escort of thuggish looking men on motorbikes. Their plan was simple- Wanda would seize their minds, hold them prisoner, while Vision broke the Mind Stone out. It would then be simple to jump back to the exact moment they had left, replace the Stone and return home again. Every variable had been calculated for, every possible outcome.

“Ma… Mama?”

Except this one.

* * *

Wanda’s heart stopped. Stopped, restarted, and stopped again, as she turned to face her brother.

He was so small. So fragile and pale, so undernourished. She had almost forgotten how weak they had been before the experimentation- afterwards, they had both filled out, Pietro particularly.

His icy blue eyes pierced her own as he looked in confusion. And terror.

Vision stood frozen, completely unable to rationalise the best move in this situation.

Pietro looked closer, eyes narrowing as he began to slowly back away. “You’re not… you look just like her, but your eyes are different. And Mama is… Mama is _dead_.” Retreating to the treeline, his body poised to flee, he demanded, “who _are_ you.”

Wanda edged forwards slightly as a tear slid down her cheek. “Friends,” she barely whispered, palms upturned in placation. “Pietro, you- “

_“HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME.”_

“This isn’t… this won’t make much sense right now. It may… never make sense for you, but- “

“No. I come to hunt to feed my sister, but here you are, you are older, but you look _just like her and my Mama._ Who are you?” He reiterated plaintively. Pietro’s thick Sokovian accent and lilting voice were too much for Wanda to handle. She had begun to forget his voice, his eyes, his smile…

Vision blinked through the shock and slowly walked to stand beside Wanda. “We mean no harm. We merely have a job to accomplish, and…”

There was really no way to explain this away. Pietro seemed to have figured this out too, and turned on his heel.

Wanda could do nothing as her big brother fled from her in terror, suddenly so much smaller than the brother she had known.

* * *

Vision felt the first sob escape Wanda as he reached to comfort her, but then noticed a rumbling coming from down the road. He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the trees, looking out at the oncoming vehicle.

A grey van.

“I promise you Wanda, as soon as this job is done, I will do whatever you need, stay with you for as long as you want. But right now, we have to grab this stone, and we have to go.”

He received a nod in response. Deeming this satisfactory, he pressed a swift kiss to her lips and knelt down, digging his feet into the soft earth. This would have to be quick. There was no time for mistakes, and they didn’t have enough Pym Particles for a do-over.

* * *

The truck neared, and Wanda stepped past a kneeling Vision and straight into the middle of the road. She could feel a hand grabbing desperately for her ankle, knowing that this was not part of the plan, but she didn’t care.

The armed escort drew to a halt as Wanda smiled prettily at them. A few grunted in annoyance and distaste, but the majority eyed her appreciatively, whistling and cooing for her to come closer. One look into their filthy minds told her what they had planned for her. A lone, small woman, wandering the outskirts of Sokovia? For them, easy pickings.

Two of them got off their motorcycles, flanking her from both sides. Cornering her. They stank of alcohol and the redness around their eyes told her they were most likely high. Typical that Strucker had trusted this Stone of infinite power to this filth.

They were the first to die.

Wanda released her power.

The full force of energy hit the truck and men head on. The men on the motorbikes didn’t stand a chance as a scarlet wave of rage and pain and anguish crested over their heads. Pietro was dead, and it was men like this that had killed him. Them and this stupid, disgusting world, where the only way people can find comfort is in a fistful of powder or by preying on those weaker than themselves. That, and the aspirations of arrogant, powerful men.

They didn’t deserve to live anyway. She’d seen them rape some of the other girls, the ones that hadn’t survived the pain and torture as she and Pietro had. The ones they deemed to be worth their time. They had called her _divja lepota_ \- wild beauty. They taunted and teased through the bars, but they knew if they got close, she would bite and kick and scream and cause more trouble than she was worth. 

They died, alone and in pain, drowning in their own blood as bones snapped. The blood pooling on the concrete was the same shade as Wanda’s own power.  
The ones driving the van, she left alive but unconscious. She wanted to leave someone for Strucker to find. To wonder who had the power to do this. Not knowing the person to destroy his own men was the woman created by his senseless experimentation.

Stalking to the rear doors, she used her power to rip them off their hinges. Two men sat inside, not moving, eyes full of hate and guns fixed on her head.  
Wanda granted them one second to attempt to defend themselves, then turned them into ashes and splinters.

* * *

As the life left the last of the men, Vision slowly walked through the gore. He had never seen a killing this brutal, this efficient. Wanda had held their minds as she killed them, leaving some to suffer, taking some quickly, and leaving a couple alive but unconscious.

Carefully approaching her, Vision took in her feral eyes, clenched fists, and gritted teeth. He took those hands, kissing each one, before pulling her to him and kissing her forehead.

This had not been the plan, but Wanda deserved this. She deserved retribution for all that had been done to her, and he hoped this had been enough.

“Viz, I- “

“You don’t have to explain. Let’s get the Stone and go home, my love.”

The Stone was encased in thick, enforced glass, but Wanda shattered it with half a thought. The bright gold light was beautiful, alluring. She reached to grab it with a bare hand, but Vision remembered how this had gone last time- the Mind Stone was powerful, and in a way, sentient. It would harness Wanda’s power and could do devastating damage.

Instead, he plucked the Stone out of the case with a gloved hand and chucked the cursed thing straight into a small case. It had been in his head once- had been a part of him. But now, it was as foreign to his body as any random stone along the cracked and broken roadside.

As Vision clicked the case shut, the gold glow abruptly vanished, along with the scarlet aura surrounding Wanda. He could sense the guilt, oily and queasy, settle in her stomach as she took in the scene around them, the bloodshed. The realisation that she had done this.

A hand slid to her stomach as her eyes widened in terror.

Before Wanda could slide deeper into her guilt, Vision slid her helmet into place along with his own, throwing themselves once more into that space between all worlds and time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to any that noticed I stole one of Hank's lines from Detroit: Become Human (...comfort in a fistful of powder.) It just seemed very fitting :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Again, any suggestions, just let me know!


End file.
